EEOC CHAIRMAN TO RECEIVE COVETED CLARENCE FARMER SERVICE
AWARD

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas will be honored tomorrow by
the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations for his work in
eliminating barriers to equal opportunity and opening doors to
minorities in the legal profession.

Casellas will be presented the Clarence Farmer Service Award at
an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel, 1201
Market Street. Last year's recipient was former U.S. Congressman
and Special Advisor to President Clinton on Haiti Rev. William
Gray.

PCHR Chairman Kevin E. Vaughan said Casellas is being honored
for "his life-long commitment to promote intergroup harmony and
minority involvement in the field of law."

A former partner at the Philadelphia law firm of Montgomery,
McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, Casellas has been EEOC Chairman
since October 1994. He was previously General Counsel of the Air
Force.

In his brief time at the EEOC helm, Casellas has bolstered his
reputation as a consensus builder by involving the agency's diverse
constituency in reforming and strengthening the commission's
enforcement operations. Chief among his accomplishments have been
the revamping of EEOC's charge processing system, including the
adoption of alternative dispute resolution, the settlement of
longstanding labor-management disputes within the agency and the
forging of a new relationship with state and local fair employment
practices agencies.

Throughout his legal career, Casellas has been a leader in
local, state, and national bar association activities. Among his
many accomplishments, he served as Chair of the Board of Governors
of the Philadelphia Bar Association, a member of the American Bar
Association's House of Delegates and Commission on Opportunities
for Minorities in the Profession, and National President of the
Hispanic National Bar Association.

Casellas was also on the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia
Bar Foundation and served as Special Counsel to the Philadelphia
Commission on Human Relations.

Civic activities of Casellas include serving on the boards of
the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, the Community Legal
Services, Inc. of Philadelphia, and the Free Library of
Philadelphia, as well as serving on the Mayor's Commission on
Puerto Rican and Latino Affairs.